


If It's The Last Thing I Do

by Yourtimewillcome



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Can you tell I'm bad at tags, Hurt/Comfort, I actually like this?? What??, I am gonna continue, Keith's Paladin Vlog, Keith's Vlog, Lance's own insecurities are kind of hinted read please, M/M, Might continue? But I'm not sure, Multi, Not drowning in a pit of self hate that's new, Ok I think it's angsty enough, Please read it lmao, after keith's paladin vlog, food goo, is that a tag?, not sure if angsty enough to be tagged angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-04 13:03:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12169425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yourtimewillcome/pseuds/Yourtimewillcome
Summary: After Keith's vlog, he is confronted by Lance, who just really wants to help because he is a precious small bean (They both are)





	1. Walls Are Up

**Author's Note:**

> Um hi, I hope you like it, please comment and give me kudos I feed off them. Also, tell me on a scale of 1 to 10 how heartbreaking Keith's vlog was for you. Mine was 1000. (I relate on so many levels) 
> 
> Note: I wrote this in like 10 minutes and didn't go over it and my first language is NOT English, so if you see any mistakes please (kindly) tell me about them.  
> 

Keith ran out of the room, hurriedly rushing down the halls in hopes of reaching his room before the floodgates opened and he cried in front of anyone. He didn’t even remember if he had paused the recording, but he silently told himself he didn’t care, despite the urge he felt to go back and check. He kept running, face in his hands, until he reached his room. By that time, he realized his eyes were blurry with tears, but no one had seen him. The doors opened and he stepped in, briskly closing the doors and using the weird Altean version of a lock to prevent anyone from coming in any time soon. He walked over to his bed and sat down, finally allowing himself to cry. No one would see him now. No one would tell him he was being childish, or that only babies cried. He shouldn’t cry he shouldn’t cry he shouldn’t cry. Fresh tears streamed down his face as those awful words ran through his mind. He could remember exactly who had first uttered them to him, and since then he couldn’t clear them from his memory. He shouldn’t be crying, but at least now no one could say anything about it. He lay face down on the bed, and let the pillow soak up his tears and sobbing. He wouldn’t want anyone to pass by and hear him. He thought about his mother, how he didn’t even remember what she looked like, just remembered the empty feeling when his father had told him that she was never coming back. She had left him, she had decided he wasn’t worth her time. All these ugly thoughts went through his head, and he couldn’t stop more tears from streaming down his face and into the pillow case. He always got rejected. His mom, foster homes, the kids at school, they all rejected him. No one wanted to be near him, he was just the loner, the kid with no friends, not even his mother wanted him… He tried to stop the tears but they just kept coming, no matter how hard he tried to compose himself. He closed his eyes and just allowed it to happen, thinking back to the stupid vlog. Why had he allowed himself to be convinced to do that? It was obviously a bad idea. Hey Keith, sit in front of a camera and tell us about yourself. I wonder how that was going to turn out! He choked back a sob at that and mentally cursed himself. He should have known, he should have figured this would be the worst thing he could possible do. He had absolutely no filter, there was nothing keeping him from spilling his guts to some oddly shaped camera look alike. He shook his head and finally felt the tears stopping, right at the same time there was a knock at the door. 

“Hey Keith? You in there? I thought you were filming the blog thingy” He heard the curious voice of his teammate, Lance, ask. It was slightly muffled, since the door was closed and he had his head stuck in his pillow. Keith sniffed and tried to steady his voice as much as possible.

“Yeah, I’m here, I finished that” He said

“Oh, ok, next time at least come and tell me” Lance awkwardly replied. Keith heard some feet shuffling, and figured Lance had left, but he was proven wrong when he heard the other boy speak again.

“Are you ok? I mean, you didn’t even open the door” Lance said “Am I not even important enough for you to open the door and face me?” He joked, but Keith could hear the slightly hurt tone he said those words with. He couldn’t open the door, not in this state, he wouldn’t allow anyone to see him this way. Without realizing it, he had gotten up and was now standing in front of the door. What was he going to do? He quickly wiped away his tears and coughed to clear his throat, before unlocking the door and letting it slide open. The lights were off, so the room was dark, and he stepped into the shadows to conceal his eyes.

“Hey man, are you ok?” Lance asked, worry evident in his tone. Shit, he definitely knew something was off. So much for Lance being the oblivious one. 

“Yeah, it’s fine” Keith said, but Lance didn’t buy it.

“Hey, I… Kinda watched you storm out of the room? What happened in there” Lance asked. He had been acting clueless but he had seen it all, Keith rushing out, face in his hands, shoulders shaking. He really wished he had tried to eavesdrop earlier. Keith shook his head, wordlessly trying to shut the door, but Lance stopped it with his hand. Lance wasn’t sure if the door would stop, but he put his hand to try and slow it down regardless, and thankfully it came to a stop before it crushed Lance’s hand. He kind of needed those. 

“Hey, we’re a team now, you can tell me anything” Lance urged. He had never seen Keith look so vulnerable, and it made him want to help his rival in any way possible. He didn’t know where those feelings were coming from, but he really just wanted to give the slightly shorter paladin a warm hug. Keith was still looking down, refusing to meet Lance’s gaze, but he opened his mouth to speak. 

“I don’t want to talk about it” He said in a soft voice. Why did Lance want to know anyway? So he could make fun of him? Like all those other kids had? 

“Fine, you don’t need to” Lance replied. Keith thought he would finally walk away and leave him alone, and he felt as if he should be relieved, but he felt his heart sink at the thought of Lance leaving him. The red paladin did no such thing, and he stepped into the room, placing his hand on Keith’s shoulder. Lance turned on the lights in the room, complaining about it being ‘too emo’ in here, and Keith winced when the bright lights hit his face. Lance tugged him over to the bed and they both sat down, wordlessly refusing to meet each other’s eyes. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Lance sighed and wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders, pulling him into an awkward hug. Keith tensed up, not knowing how to react, so he awkwardly patted Lance’s arms. The gesture made fresh tears start pouring out of Keith’s eyes, and before he could stop it, his face was buried in his teammates chest as he cried. Lance rubbed his hand in a circular pattern on Keith’s back, and whispered some words of comfort. Keith didn’t hear him, but it was still nice. 

“I’m sorry” Keith muttered

“For what?” Lance asked

“This, I-I’m making your shirt wet” Keith replied

“Don’t worry about it, it’ll dry” Lance answered. 

“It’s ok to cry, Keith” Lance said once Keith had pulled away and he could look into his eyes. 

“I- No” Keith said stubbornly

“I get it you want to be all macho but everyone cries” Lance rolled his eyes

“It’s not that...” Keith started, but he stopped himself before he said anything else. He didn’t even know why he had opened the door, but he felt as if he could actually trust Lance. It was odd, they fought, they argued, but at the end of the day, Keith realized that Lance was that person that would always be there for anyone, no matter what. That’s one of the many things that made him so special. 

“Then what is it” Lance urged. He wanted to know what made Keith think that he shouldn’t cry. He remembered how many times he himself had been laying on his bed, thinking of how much he missed his family and his home, and shed some tears. Crying didn’t make you weaker, his mom always told him it made you stronger, because you were willing to accept it was a part of life, that crying when you were sad or hurt was a normal part of being a human. He knew most people viewed crying as for the weak, but he didn’t know Keith was one of those. 

“They always told me to stop crying” Keith mysteriously replied

“Who?” Asked Lance, curious as to who he was going to have to beat up. Or who he was going to have to convince Hunk to beat up. 

“All the foster homes, they always told me to stop crying, it-it’s what babies do” Keith wiped away some tears from his eyes and stubbornly shook his head. Ok, this might be difficult. 

“Keith, crying is a normal part of being human, no matter what your age is” Lance tried

“But I’m NOT human, am I?” Keith’s shoulders slumped. 

“Well, I mean, you’re part human? Like you’re at least half human, you look pretty human to me” Lance rambled

“It doesn’t matter, just… Leave me alone” Keith said, turning away. Lance wasn’t sure what to do now, but he had to help him. He just wished he knew what had happened to make Keith so upset. It seemed the conversation was over though, as Keith was no longer in the mood for talking about his feelings. There was nothing left for him to do.

“Hey Keith?”

“Yeah”

“If you ever want to talk to anyone, you have an entire team of people that care about you, you know that right?” Silence

“Just… I’m always here, if you want to talk” Lance said, standing up and awkwardly walking towards the door, sparing one last look at his teammate before stepping outside. He half hoped Keith would say something, but the boy just stayed silent. Lance sighed, and tried one more time.

“I’m right next door” He finished, before walking out. He headed to his room, which was only a few steps away, and watched the door slide open with absolutely zero interest. He had meant it though, he was starting to realize maybe Keith wasn’t all knives and bad hair. Deep down, he was just as hurt as the rest of them, even though he had walls to prevent others from seeing it. Lance was determined to bring them down, even if it was the last thing he ever did.


	2. Team Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team tries to get Keith to talk to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to continue this, so I really hope you enjoy it! I didn't go over it, because I'm too lazy, so again (kindly) alert me of any mistakes I made. I'm really not confident with this but I wanted to get it out ya know. Enjoy!
> 
> Also the term for an Altean movie is not mine, my amazing, clever friend came up with it!

Lance clapped his hands together once the rest of his team, minus Keith, were all seated. The noise instantly got everyone’s attention, but just in case, Lance loudly and exaggeratedly cleared his throat. 

“Ok team, there is a very important subject we need to talk about” He said

“How you want a change in diet?” Hunk asked

“A plan to get a cute alien girl to date you?” Pidge assumed

“For the last time I am not going out with you Lance” Allura huffed

“Hey, hey, hey! Stop! It’s none of those!” Lance said, effectively shutting everyone up. Shiro and Coran seemed to be the only ones that were actually taking the paladin seriously, and Lance felt personally offended. 

“It’s about Keith” Lance said, offering no further explanation until he could gauge their reactions. 

“Keith? I see, does it have anything to do with his vlog?” Coran asked, curious

“Actually, it does!” Lance said, slightly excited someone was getting his point

“What about it?” Asked Allura “It was meant for each member of the team to open up and talk about themselves, is there something wrong with that?” Allura asked. 

“No, well, yes, well, no, not really, but-” Lance wasn’t sure what to say. He knew Keith wouldn’t want him to go to the rest of the team, not even wanting Lance there to witness the moment, but that was understandable, but he would definitely want Shiro by his side right? Those two were like brothers… 

“He kind of rushed out crying” Lance blurted out, and winced at the reactions he received. 

“Really?!”

“Is he alright?” 

“Why?” 

“What happened?” 

“Everyone calm down” Shiro’s voice quieted everyone. He looked like he was pondering something, perhaps thinking of the reason why Keith would have been crying. 

“Do you know why Keith was upset?” Shiro asked

“No, he didn’t tell me, he said some horrible things about people telling him to not cry though” Lance thought it might be helpful to add that last bit, but Shiro winced.

“Who would say that? Like you have to be a real d-” Pidge began, but Shiro anticipated her curse word and stopped her.

“Pidge” He said, giving her a look that fathers would give their children when they did something wrong. Pidge huffed and rolled her eyes, but didn’t finish her sentence. 

“He had some… Bad foster homes” Shiro oh so eloquently said. Lance huffed, I couldn’t have said it better myself, he thought sarcastically. 

“So anyway, I’m just worried about him, but I didn’t want to pry, it seemed like a personal topic so I thought it was better if one of you tried to help him” Lance said.

“Passing responsibility to the next available person I see” Pidge joked.

“No! It’s not that, it’s just… I don’t really know him very well, he doesn’t really like me you know” Lance rubbed his arm uncomfortably, looking down. For once in his life he hated the fact that all eyes were on him.

“Lance, that’s not true” Allura spoke up, standing up and taking a seat next to Lance. She awkwardly patted his shoulder, but offered no further comfort than that. 

“Keith has a problem with trust, you know” Shiro said, looking at every person in the room. 

“His mom left him, his dad died… I can’t imagine how he felt when I left too…” Shiro looked down, ashamed. It wasn’t the first time he regretted going on the Kerberos trip. 

“So basically we have a guy with PTSD, and a kid with abandonment issues” Pidge plainly stated, not trying to sugar-coat a thing. She had her legs crossed, and she was looking up as if deep in thought. When she looked back down she scoffed at the rest of the team.

“We are Voltron, defenders of the universe, please place your trust in 5 emotionally unstable teenage kids” She said. That brought a small laugh out of the human comprised part of the team, though Coran and Allura looked confused.

“This is nothing to joke about, Pidge” The orange-haired man started

“Coran is correct, I believe some more bonding is required!” Allura cheered. The rest of the team, minus Shiro, groaned and Pidge threw her short arms up in the air. 

“I think that is a wonderful idea, Princess” Shiro said, smiling at Allura. Allura then faced the rest of the team, specifically Lance, and continued. 

“While you are at it, you can try and see if Keith will talk to any of you” She said. The way she said it sounded as if she was asking everyone to try their best to help their teammate, but she was specifically looking at Lance. Something told her he would be the one to break through to Keith, if any of them could.  
*******************************************************************  
“So what is this ‘bonding exercise’ about” Asked a confused Keith. He had been dragged out of his room by an overly excited Allura, who had promised she had come up with ‘The best bonding exercise ever!’ Lance didn’t have any idea what the Altean had come up with. He looked at Keith, and noticed the dark-haired boy looked much better. It had been a few hours since Lance had seen him, and all indications that he had ever been crying were gone. His eyes were clear and his cheeks devoid of any tear tracks. He looked like regular old Keith, and Lance wondered how he had composed himself so quickly. 

“Well I don’t want to spoil anything” She said. Her eyes shone and she looked extremely cheerful, a major difference to her attitude just a little while ago. Man, was everyone on this ship good at hiding their feelings? 

“Yeah, but what do we have to do?” Keith asked. Allura halted and let go of Keith’s arm, replying quickly.  
“You’ll see soon enough!” She said cheerfully, avoiding the question. That worried Lance, and brought up an unsettling feeling in his stomach. What did Allura have planned for them? He didn’t sign up to be as clueless as the cast of Scooby Doo! 

“I’m with Keith on this one Allura, what are you making us do?” Lance asked. The Princess shot him a look of betrayal, as if she were questioning where his loyalties were. 

“It’s a surprise Lance! You don’t want to spoil it, do you” She said. She gritted her teeth at that last part, the hidden message of ‘Shut up Lance’ clear as day. Lance huffed and asked no further questions, just walking along with the two paladins in complete silence. Once they had arrived, they found the rest of the team waiting for them, and they were in… An odd room they had never been in before. Lance took in his surroundings and admired the oddly shaped cough looking thing in the middle. There were already some Altean snacks laid on trays, and Lance’s stomach growled. Would they be taste testing some Altean recipes? He was down for that. 

“Coran will explain the process of this exercise!” Allura clapped her hands in excitement. 

“Wait, wait, wait. What does this have to do with Voltron?” Keith asked, becoming aware of how everyone’s eyes were on him.

“Well, the purpose of this exercise is to bond with each other, not with your lions. Coran and I have deemed your bond with your lions are strong enough for now, so we need to focus on your bond as fellow paladins” Allura explained

“Alright” Keith said, deciding it was best to not ask any further questions and just let the Princess explain so this would be over quicker. 

“Now, we are all going to sit down, and enjoy a nice Altean comedy about a young man who falls in love. And on his face. Constantly” Coran said

“Wait, we’re watching a movie?” Lance questioned, eyes wide. Allura looked at him strangely and shook her head. 

“I am unfamiliar with a ‘movie’, we are watching a stereopticon” Said Allura. This stereopticon was probably an Altean version of a movie, but Lance decided not to fight the Princess on this. Allura pushed Lance and Keith to sit next to each other on the couch, and they awkwardly shuffled around until they were comfortable. From left to right, the order was: Coran, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, Keith, and Shiro. Allura giggled and clapped her hands, setting up the Altean device for a TV, and once the movie began playing, she sat down next to Shiro. There was absolutely no space between them, and they seemed comfortable being that close. Allura whispered something in Shiro’s ear and he laughed, whispering something back. They both sneaked a glance at Lance and Keith, which made Lance nervous, wanting to know what they were talking about. Lance’s attention shifted to the movie as it started, and noticed they were no credits at the beginning. The first scene was about a red haired Altean boy, as he skipped in a valley of flowers, picking some up. He soon tripped and fell, and a hand appeared onscreen, offering him help back up. This must be the love interest Lance thought. Soon, the scene changed, and the one helping him up was a dark haired Altean boy. The red-haired boy blushed, and the narrator started talking about how the red-haired boy, whose name was Jadren, had been hiding his feelings for the dark-haired boy, Kronan, for 2 years. 

“Wait, hold up” Lance said, thrusting his hands out in front of him, hoping Allura would stop the movie for a second. She complied, and paused it, as all eyes turned to Lance. Lance was not the first one to speak up, as they heard a laugh come from Pidge.

“That’s GAAAY” She yelled, before laughing out loud “I love this movie” She giggled, and Hunk nodded as well.

“This is so cute” Hunk wiped away a fake tear from his eye “I really hope they end up together” He continued. Lance blinked

“So, wait, you guys don’t have a problem with this?” He asked, his question directed towards Allura and Coran. Allura looked confused and shook her head

“Why would we? I actually rather enjoy this stereopticon” She said. Lance nodded silently. It seemed like this was normal for Alteans. Cool

“Ok, continue, I wanna see what happens” Lance leaned back. Allura continued the movie, and Lance noticed how stiff Keith was beside him.

“You ok buddy?” Lance asked, concerned. 

“Um, yeah” Keith replied, shifting his gaze towards Shiro, who simply shrugged and messed up his hair even more.

“Just enjoy the movie Keith” Shiro whispered. Keith awkwardly shifted around some more, and Lance noticed he wasn’t paying much attention to the movie, and seemed more interested in his shoes. Did he have a problem with this? 

“Hey Keith, what’s wrong? Is it the movie?” Lance questioned, and Keith tensed up even more.

“No! It’s not that, it’s just…” He looked Shiro with pleading eyes, but the other did not help him. Shiro shrugged with a ‘Don’t look at me’ expression, and turned his eyes back towards the screen, and towards Allura, who was currently snuggling even closer to him as she squealed at was happening onscreen. 

“I… I need to go… To the bathroom” Keith said, not sounding very convincing. He got up and walked away without another word, and Allura frowned.

“Was this my fault?” She asked, looking confused and sad

“No, Princess, that’s not it…” Shiro said

“Then what is it! Come on Shiro, we’re a team now!” Lance pushed. Hunk, Pidge, and Coran were now glancing towards Shiro too, who looked extremely uncomfortable being put on the spot. 

“I just think it’s better if Keith tells you himself” Shiro said

“Then I’m going to bring him back! There should be no secrets or awkwardness in this team” Lance said, determined.

“Yeah!” Agreed Hunk, standing up along with Lance. Pidge rolled her eyes but stood up as well, and the Garrison trio marched out of the room in Keith’s direction. Shiro sighed, but made no move to stand up, not wanting to get out of his comfortable spot.  
Coran and Allura also stayed where they were, looking utterly confused. 

“Don’t worry Princess, they’ll be back” Said Shiro

“Alright” She said, pouting “I just really want to finish this stereopticon” She said

“And you will” Shiro patted her shoulder awkwardly. I just hope Keith will be with us when you do Shiro said to himself.  
*******************************************************************  
Lance stopped marching suddenly, causing Hunk and Pidge to bump into him, almost knocking him over.

“Wait, guys, where did he go?” Lance inquired, looking around frantically

“Most likely to his room” Pidge reasoned

“Yeah, I mean, I don’t think he went to the bathroom” Hunk added. The trio headed towards Keith’s room, silently as to not alert their teammate of their presence. Just like Pidge assumed, Keith was in fact in his room, as they could hear some shuffling inside. Pidge noticed the room was locked, but she smirked and Lance watched her do some tech mumbo-jumbo before the door opened. Keith squeaked, and then blushed and covered his mouth, not believing how high-pitched that had sounded. 

“Come on dude, it’s a bonding exercise, we all need to be there” Lance was the first to speak up. Keith’s gaze shifted from the group and he sighed.

“Look, I just, don’t really… You guys know I prefer to be alone” Keith settled on. The trio could see it was a lie, Keith didn’t actually prefer to be alone, he just wasn’t a social person. Nobody wanted to be alone. Unless they were going to the bathroom or something. 

“Come on Keith, just finish the stereopticon” Pidge tried to convince him

“Yeah, come on, what’s so bad about it?” Hunk asked. Keith sighed and crossed his arms

“There’s nothing wrong with it! I just… Don’t belong there” Keith said “Ok? It’s not the movie or stereopticon or whatever, I just don’t belong there with the team” He said

“Well you are part of the team” Pidge said

“No I’m not! I’m a paladin, but I just… I don’t belong with you guys” Keith looked away. 

“Keith, let’s talk about this man” Hunk tried, but Keith seemed determined

“Come on guys, we can’t force him to do something he doesn’t want to” Pidge urged. She knew they wouldn’t make any process forcing Keith to do anything. 

“No” Lance said, speaking up again. He had been quiet up to this point, which had made the other three nervous.

“Keith, you aren’t the only person that feels like they don’t belong here, but at least I- They try to connect with the others. How are you ever going to become a part of the team if you aren’t willing to interact with them. And that means bringing those walls of yours down and finally letting someone in” Lance wanted to turn around and walk away, but he also wanted to stay and see how Keith would react. Keith simply looked down at his shoes and ignored them for a while. Hunk and Pidge stayed standing where they were. Finally, Keith looked up at them and sighed

“Fine, let’s go finish that stereoptiwhatever” Keith said

“Stereopticon” Pidge corrected him “You were so close, man” She said

They headed back in complete silence, but Lance made sure to walk at the same pace as Keith, so he was right next to him. He knew Keith was trying to walk behind him on purpose, but Lance wasn’t about to let him feel left out of the team again. Allura, Coran, and Shiro seemed happy when they came back, immediately moving to clear up the space in the couch for the four paladins.  
Keith stayed silent throughout the entire stereopticon, simply alternating between looking at his shoes and up at the ceiling. Lance sighed. The movie was ending, and this would all be over soon. Now on the screen was a scene were Jadren was about to confess, and Lance was mentally yelling at the boy to just do it already. Lance stretched backwards, so his arms wouldn’t hit anyone, and he laid them down on the back rest. Keith tensed, while it didn’t seem to bother Hunk. Lance considered removing them, but decided to continue to watch his teammates reaction. He was about to test what would happen if he rested his arm on Keith’s shoulder, when the stereopticon ended and Keith shot up, bolting to his room no doubt. Lance sighed, so much for ‘bonding exercise’. Allura sighed, clearly thinking the same thing, and dismissed the team, telling them to get some rest. She promised they would try again tomorrow. Sometimes Lance just wished things were in black and white, instead of being so complicated. He noticed the only ones left in the room were Hunk, Pidge, and him, and he gave his two friends weak smiles. Hunk returned it, but Pidge seemed to be lost in her thoughts. 

“What do you think Shiro did to get Keith to open up to him?” She said out loud. Lance thought about it. Shiro and Keith seemed pretty close, and it made Lance wonder how Shiro had achieved Keith to even talk to him. Guess when you were as awesome as Shiro, everything was easy.

“Maybe we can talk to him about it tomorrow, right now I just need some sleep” Hunk voiced up. Pidge and Lance agreed, heading off back to their rooms after saying goodbye. Tomorrow they would try again. He wouldn’t stop until he had united the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always kind of seen Lance as the person that ties everyone together? Like ya know, the glue? Please comment it would mean the world to me! <3 I hope you liked it.


	3. All In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance decides to take a different approach, the way into a man's heart is through his stomach after all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow um I cried writing this? Like, you all are gonna read this and be like so at what part did they cry? o.O I am such a cry baby X.X I hope you enjoy!
> 
> I also did not take the time to correct this because I have none so again if you see any mistakes please kindly point them out to me! 
> 
> Also wtf is that summary??? The food is barely mentioned???

The air was hot in the training room, and the area reeked of the repugnant smell of sweat. Keith had been training for what seemed like hours to most, but only a few minutes for Keith. The adrenaline coursed through his body as he slashed another one of those Altean robots, watching it crumple to the floor, defeated. He was at level 8 now, a level he had never surpassed. His mind was exhausted from all that had happened lately, all the emotions, his mother, his team, Lance… Another bot came charging at him, this one faster, and with a lighter sword. It’s blows were quick and merciless, and Keith soon found himself being backed into a corner. He quickly dodged its next attack, slipping between its legs and kicking it in the back, bringing his sword down on its head, effectively knocking it out. He wondered just how many levels there were, and how much harder they got. He also wondered what Allura’s level was. She seemed to know what she was doing, and since she was always chastising them for not being able to fight better, she must be extremely good, or simply a hypocrite. Keith leaned towards the former option, he had seen the princess in action after all, and she could probably wipe the floor with him. He never noticed the second presence in the room, not until a voice commanded the training to cease, and the robot powered down. Keith looked around, offended, until he spotted Lance. The boy seemed concerned, and Keith wondered what had happened. Lance always had some happy or smug expression on his face, he had barely seen the guy look concerned or sad. Keith wiped the sweat off his forehead, and panted. He hadn’t realized how exhausted he was until now. 

“You haven’t eaten at all today” Lance stated. Keith could hear the disapproval in his voice, and he mentally noted that it reminded him of Shiro. 

“Yeah, I know” Keith replied, scoffing. Did Lance think Keith was unaware of that fact?

“You need to eat” Lance tried to be blunt. He couldn’t believe how dense this boy could sometimes be. 

“I’m not hungry” Keith grunted, pulling off his gloves. His hands ached from having been holding his sword for so long, but he showed no signs of discomfort for Lance to pick up on. 

“Keith, you still need to eat” Lance tried again in a softer voice. Keith seemed unaffected, as he simply passed by the other boy, their shoulders briefly touching, as he picked up his jacket and tried to escape the training room. Lance grabbed his arm, pulling him back before he could leave. Keith sighed, disappointed Lance was continuing to attempt to persuade him to see the rest of the team. He knew what the plan was, Allura wanted them to bond, and they couldn’t do that without him. He didn’t care at the moment, he just needed some time away from other people. Why couldn’t they understand that? It was because he wanted to be alone, but he also wanted someone to understand that. It was complicated to explain his feelings, especially since he didn’t understand them himself. He closed his eyes and contemplated his options. He could simply wrench his arm away from Lance’s weak grasp, as he had noticed Lance wasn’t actually holding him there, it was more of a silent plead for him to come with him in the form of his soft tug. He eventually sighed and relaxed, allowing Lance to pull him towards the exit with him, and they headed in the direction of the kitchen. Keith expected to see Allura waiting there, ready to tell them about a new exciting bonding exercise she had planned, and was surprised when he was greeted with empty space. There was no one around, just him and Lance. Lance let go of him, grabbing a space bowl and serving Keith some space goo. He handed the bowl to the dark-haired boy, who took it wordlessly. Lance then grabbed ahold of him again and tugged him towards the dining room. He gently shoved Keith towards his seat, and then sat down right next to his confused teammate. 

“Where’s the rest of the team?” Keith shyly asked, his voice almost a whisper. Keith cleared his throat and repeated himself, this time a bit louder. 

“Oh, am I not enough for you?” Lance asked, pretending to be offended. Keith saw that it was a genuine question though, and he was quick to correct himself.

“No! No, I was just wondering, that’s all” He murmured, shoving his food around. He truly didn’t want to eat, but he was glad Lance had been concerned about him. In a way, he also didn’t want anyone to be worried about him, didn’t want to be the one to cause those feelings, but from Lance it was different. It was as if he could convince himself that maybe the other boy did care about him. Keith sighed, bringing the spoon up to his mouth and swallowing the food goo. He had slowly gotten accustomed to the odd taste of the green goo, even though he still wasn’t able to pin down what it tasted like. It wasn’t so much the taste that he disliked, but more the slimy texture of the food. That was what most of the team disliked anyway. He got through about of the bowl before he simply quit, deciding to face Lance, who had been uncharacteristically quiet this entire time. 

“So, um” Keith said, trying to think of a way to get Lance to speak, so he could put an end to the awfully awkward silence. 

“So…” Lance dragged out the vowel, drumming his fingers on the table, one of his hands playing with his hair. Keith gulped, and he shifted his gaze as far away from the other person in the room. He ended up looking at the door, silently hoping it would slide open and someone would come in. Lance debated his next move for a few seconds, before he rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder. He took a deep breath and formulated his next words carefully in his mind.

“Keith, I know we aren’t the best of friends, and that is definitely partially my own fault, but I want you to know” He paused there, trying to steal a glance at Keith’s expression. The other boy was still looking away, so Lance continued regardless.

“I’m always gonna be here for you, no matter what. I’m sorry if I somehow made you believe I hated you, I was just really jealous you know, you were always so much better than me at everything” Now it was Lance’s turn to look away. He was supposed to be getting Keith to open up, not sharing his own feelings to the guy! Keith scoffed, though it was also mixed with a short sarcastic laugh. Lance heard a sniffle and realized Keith was crying. 

“I’m a mess” Keith said only barely above a whisper

“You’re so confident and outgoing, you bond with people and everyone likes you, they really do, I’m just the loner nobody wants. Nobody. Not even my own moth-” Keith stopped there, choking back a sob. Tears were freely flowing down his face, and he desperately tried to wipe them away, but eventually gave up, turning his head to look at Lance. 

“My own mother didn’t want me, she left, they all leave, even Shiro left, nobody actually-” Lance didn’t know what possessed him, but he wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders and pressed the other boy’s face against his shoulder, effectively shutting him up. Lance tried to think of something to say, but he dismissed any ideas as soon as they came up. ‘It’s ok’ would be a lie, and he didn’t think Keith would believe a ‘That’s not true’ coming from him. Keith was the one that eventually pulled away, no surprise there, he was still a little iffy about physical contact. 

“Thanks Lance” Keith said, looking down. Lance wanted to say something else, something heartwarming about how everyone cared about him, and how his team would always love him, but he couldn’t formulate any words right now. He just had a strange urge to just… Lance blinked. To just what? What did he want to do? 

“Lance?” Keith grabbed the edge of the other boy’s jacket and played around with it, nervously. 

“Yeah?” Lance asked, not daring to move his arm, afraid Keith would pull back and cease all contact with Lance, even though it was simply with his jacket. 

“You might not be the best… Um… Pilot” Lance raised an eyebrow at that, did Keith think he didn’t know that?

“But, you’re a really good… Uh… Listener?” Keith finished, though it sounded more like a question than a statement. Keith groaned pulling back and slapping himself in the face.

“I’m not good at this” He said, looking down. Lance blinked. He couldn’t stop what happened next. He burst out laughing. Keith looked at him, with the same offended face he had made when Lance had claimed to not recall their ‘Bonding moment’. 

“Oh my god, Keith, Keeeiiith” Lance said, slapping his own knee.

“You were trying so hard man, I appreciate it” Lance said, wiping away a tear produced by laughter, looking directly into Keith’s eyes. The other boy looked a mix of annoyed and offended, but his shoulders slumped and he sighed. 

“Well, at least you found something you are better at” Keith murmured. Lance smiled wide and straightened up.

“Yeah!” He agreed, proud of himself. Keith smiled at him, once again grabbing the edge of Lance’s jacket’s sleeve and toying around with it. Lance wasn’t even sure if he was aware he was doing it. 

“Hey, are you gonna eat the rest of that goo?” Lance asked

“No, not really” Keith shook his head

“Well, wanna go maybe…” Lance took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down

“Wanna go watch another one of those weird Altean movies?” He asked. This was it. He was afraid Keith would reject the offer or find it weird, but the dark-haired boy actually agreed, showing his acceptance of the offer with a nod. Lance beamed and grabbed Keith’s hand, dragging him back to the Altean movie room. He sure hoped Allura had more than just one stereopticon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed it can you please please please leave a comment and kudos! It would mean absolutely everything to me! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said please comment and give it kudos. Love everyone!


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